Ryan Thomas Meikle ( born 13 August 1996) is an English professional

darts Darts is a competitive sport in which two or more players bare-handedly throw small projectile point, sharp-pointed projectile, projectiles known as dart (missile), darts at a round shooting target, target known as a #Dartboard, dartboard. Point ...

player who competes in

Professional Darts Corporation The Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) is a professional darts organisation in the United Kingdom, established in 1992 when a group of leading players split from the British Darts Organisation (BDO) to form what was initially called the Wor ...

(PDC) events. He reached the last 16 at the

2019 Players Championship Finals The 2019 Ladbrokes Players Championship Finals was the twelfth edition of the PDC darts tournament, which sees the top 64 players from the 30 Players Championship events of 2019 taking part. The tournament took place from 22–24 November 2019 ...

. In his youth career, Meikle won six titles on the PDC Development Tour and made the semi-finals at the 2019 PDC World Youth Championship.

Career

Born in

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

, Meikle is a barber by trade, hence his nickname of "The Barber". He won a

PDC Tour Card The PDC Pro Tour is a series of non-televised darts tournaments organised by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). They comprise Professional Dart Players Association (PDPA) Players Championships and European Tour events. Only four players ...

by qualifying from the second day of Q–School in 2016. He made his

PDC European Tour The PDC European Tour is a series of darts tournaments held across Europe organized by the Professional Darts Corporation. Starting in 2012 with five events, the number of events has steadily risen with eight held in 2013 and 2014, nine in 2015, 10 ...

debut in the

2016 International Darts Open The 2016 International Darts Open was the seventh of ten PDC European Tour events on the 2016 PDC Pro Tour. The tournament took place at SACHSENarena in Riesa, Germany, between 2–4 September 2016. It featured a field of 48 players and £115,000 ...

Riesa Riesa (; ) is a town in the district of Meißen in Saxony, Germany. It is located on the river Elbe, approximately northwest of Dresden. History The name ''Riesa'' is derived from Slavic ''Riezowe''. This name, romanised as "Rezoa", appears f ...

, Germany, where he whitewashed Michael Rasztovits 6–0. He was scheduled to play world number one

Michael van Gerwen Michael van Gerwen (; born 25 April 1989) is a Dutch professional darts player, who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where is currently ranked PDC Order of Merit, world number three; he was ranked world number one from 20 ...

in the next round, but an ankle injury forced Van Gerwen to withdraw, giving Meikle a bye to round three, where he lost 6–2 to Yordi Meeuwisse. In 2018, he won his second PDC Development Tour title, defeating

Rowby-John Rodriguez Rowby-John Rodriguez (born 27 March 1994) is an Austrian professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. Nicknamed "Little John", he was runner-up at the PDC World Cup of Darts in both 2021 and 2024, partne ...

5–3 in the final of Development Tour 11 in

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

. Meikle made the semi-finals of the 2019 PDC World Youth Championship but lost 6–3 to

Adam Gawlas Adam Gawlas (born 18 February 2002) is a Czech professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He reached his first major semi-final at the 2023 UK Open. In his youth career, Gawlas was the runner-up at the ...

. He qualified for the 2020 PDC World Championship where he lost on his debut against Yuki Yamada. He played his last season on the PDC Development Tour in 2020. During his six years on the tour, he has won six PDC Development Tour titles. Meikle was able to qualify for the 2021 PDC World Championship but again lost in the first round, this time to

Keegan Brown Keegan Brown (born 5 November 1992) is an English professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He has won two ranking PDC Players Championship titles. Brown reached the quarter-finals at the 2014 Gran ...

, 3–0 in sets. In his third World Championship appearance, Meikle was able to win his first round match for the first time, defeating Fabian Schmutzler 3–0 in the 2022 edition before losing against Peter Wright 3–0. At the 2023 World Championship, he defeated

Lisa Ashton Lisa Ashton (born 27 August 1970) is an English professional darts player who competes in World Darts Federation (WDF) and Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. Nicknamed "The Lancashire Rose", Ashton formerly competed in British Darts O ...

3–2 in a deciding set in the first round. He then lost to

Raymond van Barneveld Raymond van Barneveld (born 20 April 1967) is a Dutch professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he was ranked world number one from January 2008 to June 2008. Nicknamed "Barney", he is a five-t ...

3–1. Despite failing to win his opening game at the

2023 UK Open The 2023 Cazoo UK Open was a darts tournament staged by the Professional Darts Corporation. It was the twenty-first year of the tournament where players compete in a single-elimination tournament to be crowned champion. The tournament was held at ...

and failing to qualify for any further major tournaments, Meikle was able to stay in top 64 of the PDC Order of Merit and continued on the Pro Tour in 2024. He made it to the fifth round of the 2024 UK Open, reaching the last 32 for the first time. He was also able to qualify for the

2024 Players Championship Finals The 2024 Players Championship Finals (known for sponsorship reasons as the 2024 Ladbrokes Players Championship Finals) was the sixteenth staging of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) darts tournament, which saw the top 64 players from the ...

as the fifty-ninth seed. He defeated the sixth seed Gary Anderson 6–5 in a deciding leg in the first round, before losing to

Martin Schindler Martin Schindler (born 16 August 1996) is a German professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is currently ranked world number eighteen. A PDC Tour Card holder since 2017, he has won four ra ...

. He qualified for the 2025 PDC World Championship. Meikle defeated

Fallon Sherrock Fallon Suzanne Michelle Sherrock (born 2 July 1994) is an English professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events; she has won ninteen Women's Series titles and the 2022 Women's World Matchplay. Sherrock ...

3–2 in the first round but lost to

Luke Littler Luke Littler (born 21 January 2007) is an English professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is currently ranked PDC Order of Merit, world number two. Nicknamed "the Nuke", Littler is the rei ...

3–1 in the second round.

Personal life

Meikle has a six-year old son.

World Championship results

PDC

* 2020: First round (lost to Yuki Yamada 1–3) * 2021: First round (lost to

0–3) * 2022: Second round (lost to Peter Wright 0–3) * 2023: Second round (lost to

1–3) * 2025: Second round (lost to

1–3)

Performance timeline

PDC European Tour PDC Players Championships

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Meikle, Ryan Living people 1996 births 21st-century English sportsmen English darts players Professional Darts Corporation current tour card holders Sportspeople from Ipswich